One of the most prestigious titles in DC history was the original "Strange Adventures" comic line.  The science fiction-oriented comic ran from 1950 to 1973; among its many accomplishments was the introduction of Captain Comet, one of the last of the pre-Silver Age heroes, as well as the Silver Age introductions of Deadman, The Atomic Knights and Animal Man.  I personally treasure in my own collection the Neal Adams-created Deadman issues of this renowned comic line.

    DC has just published issue #1 in an 8-issue mini-series of a new Strange Adventures, with the series entitled "What Threat Lurks In The Dark Zone?"   Needless to say, there are big shoes to fill by any creative team in taking-up new issues of the comic.  I'm pleased to report that DC meets the challenge in issue #1.  The comic is written by esteemed industry veteran Jim Starlin, with art by Manuel Garcia, Al Milgrom, John Kalisz and Rob Hunter.

     There are two stories in issue #1.  The first story, entitled "Starting Over," stars Adam Strange in a plot that centers on relocating the entire society of his adopted planet Rann to the planet Throneworld, after Rann has been devastated by war.  The tale alternates with a second sub-plot reintroducing us to Captain Comet, as he is pursued by alien thugs on a planet where he's been pulling-off financial schemes due to personal money woes.  A second, 7-page story is both written and pencilled by Starlin.  Entitled "A Minor Incident," the story adds Bizarro, Superman's defective clone, into the Strange Adventures mix, when an alien sorcerer accidentally pulls Bizarro into the developing storyline while miscasting a spell intended to snag Hawkman.

     The goal of issue #1 of this mini-series is to introduce us to the three main characters, Adam Strange, Captain Comet and Bizarro, with further issues bringing the three together as a team to address the Dark Zone situation.  In this respect, the series is off to a solid start.  I immensely enjoyed Starlin's scripting, here; he brings much depth to the panel-by-panel narrative that creates two very credible and detailed science fiction worlds, the planets that both Adam Strange and Captain Comet currently inhabit. 

     While Bizarro might seem like an odd choice for a third member of this superhero team, an excellent narrative provided by Superman in the second story weaves him smoothly into the growing plotline and provides strong credibility as to why he will join the other heroes in upcoming issues.

      So if you like a science fiction theme to your superhero comics, I think you definitely will want to get onboard at the very beginning of this mini-series.

          
As DC fans know, the "Battle For The Cowl" is the name of the current multi-title story arc addressing the missing Batman situation across a range of DC Batman-oriented titles.  DC is also introducing part of this theme in the new Gotham Gazette comic line.  Issue #1 is scripted by Fabian Nicieza, with a team of eight artists drawing various sections of the comic.  This first issue is sub-titled "Batman Dead?" while the sub-title will change to "Batman Alive?" starting in issue #2.

     The issue #1 plot basically introduces the reader to four key Gotham City characters who will be interacting with each other and addressing the missing Batman mystery as the series unfolds: reporter Vicky Vale, on-leave Superhero Stephanie Brown, Dr. Leslie Thompkins and Police Commissioner Gordon's ally Detective Harvey Bullock.  Each of these characters is introduced to us within their own five-page individual sub-plot, book-ended by a mysterious narrator for the overall story whom we meet in the first and last page of this issue.

     I enjoyed this piece of the "Batman is AWOL" story puzzle for two particular stand-out reasons.  First, one of my favorite elements of the Batman universe is the film noir language and atmosphere often attributed to night in Gotham City.  While not as detailed an element here as in Frank Miller's ongoing DC All-Stars Batman & Robin series, its still an elegant and poetic part of this story.  You can't go wrong with a Batman story that begins with the statement "Listen. Do you hear? The City is restless, concrete skin heaving with deep, cracking breaths.  Gotham City suffers in seething frustration, as it always has..."

     Secondly, one of the strengths that DC has infused into Batman comics over the years is the stand-alone strength of Batman's supporting characters.  The personality and backstory built around Commissioner Gordon alone could easily allow him to carry his own comic line (and at times has, actually).  As such, the depth of these other Batman world characters is both entertaining in this comic and gives me the feeling that developing the Batman storyline for awhile without The Caped Crusader as the central figure will work as both entertainment and as a worthy addition to the various Batman tales developed over the decades.

     So bottom line: enjoy Gotham Gazette #1, both as a stand-alone comic and as an entry issue into this "missing Batman" theme, that's less marketing gimmick and actually more of a sincere, intriguing new take on the world of Batman.

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